Listen, I plead guilty to having raised money for Governor George W. Bush because I thought he was the best person to be President of the United States. And I did it in a completely appropriate fashion and enthusiastically for the President. And there's no mystery to the fact that I was appointed to this job because, in part, I had a relationship with the President of the United States.

Anybody who receives a political appointment -- I am a political appointee -- there's going to be some measure of politics involved with that appointment.

Maybe it's just me, but I think this is exactly the kind of attitude that voters pretty decisively said they were done with. But good on GOP candidate Chris Christie for being so honest and upfront about what was expected of him as a Bushie. It's especially telling given that Christie talked to Rove about running while still US Attorney, a violation of the Hatch Act and that he gave no bid contracts to Ashcroft and a former US Attorney who had opted not to prosecute his brother.

It's been a fairly nasty campaign in New Jersey, with the added bonus of an Independent candidate, siphoning off some expected Democratic voters. Even so, incumbent Democratic candidate Jon Corzine is up in the polls:

New Jersey Governor, polled by The New York Times, 10/9/09-10/14/09, Likely Voters, MoE +/- 4-5%

Jon Corzine (D) 40

Chris Christie (R) 37

Chris Daggett (I) 14

After a week in which Republican challenger Chris Christie has watched poll after poll showing a dwindling lead in the gubernatorial race in the Garden State, this poll is the first to show a Corzine lead of greater than a point.

What's more, among registered voters, the polls lead really expands:

New Jersey Governor, polled by The New York Times, 10/9/09-10/14/09, Registered Voters, MoE +/- 3%

Jon Corzine (D) 40

Chris Christie (R) 30

Chris Daggett (I) 13

That would seem to suggest that the pool of persuadable voters, who are not yet quite sold on voting, is even more anti-Christie than the corps of likely voters identified by the New York Times.

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On Sunday's ABC Roundtable, Liz Cheney and Sam Donaldson got into it on the torture investigations.

The only reason she's on is to defend her father once again. This is old and tired. Why does Dick only appear on FOX News to defend his position? We know the answer to that one. Chris Wallace makes with the Love Boat eyes and crawls on his tummy to try and get Dick all excited. They are like two cats in heat. Sam Donaldson wouldn't take Liz's ridiculous arguments. I mean, she actually says that there already were investigations...cough...cough...by the Bush administration and they passed with flying colors. She then continues to lie about the 2004 report and says that nobody was raped...Sure, Liz...

Liz: You do, you say it has already been looked at..

Sam: By who?

Liz: By career prosecutors...

Sam: In the Bush administration justice department.

But Sam, they were less political than Eric Holder, who is a political appointee...

When Sam brought up drilling people in the head and rape, Liz Cheney was outraged. Not at the act, but at the accusation...

Liz: That is totally, that is inexcusable..

Sam: It's in the report...

Liz: Nobody raped anybody...

George: The law said the threats were illegal, It's against the law.

Liz: Wait a second, that's not clear.

{}

Sam: Everyone except one person that I know has commented ....says torture is waterboarding is wrong.

Liz: Waterboarding isn't torture. We can go that path...the lack of seriousness here is important...

When a conservative is losing an argument, one of their weapons is to say that you're not serious. It's a one stop shop argument fixer. Kristol uses the word "serious" a lot to make himself sound intelligent, but nobody buys it except FOX.

Oh and Liz is still trying to sell her best product of all: Waterboarding isn't torture. How many times has she denied it already?

I still say New York pizza is the best, but I wouldn't have any with Ashcroft and neither should his old political appointees...

A pizza luncheon to be hosted this Wednesday by former Attorney General turned consultant John Ashcroft for some of his old political appointees has raised eyebrows in the Justice Department's ethics office, U.S. News has learned. The ethics office, which provides Justice employees with guidance on a wide range of ethics questions, has not prohibited invitees from attending the lunch.

Why do I think of Arabian horses when I read stuff like this.

Bad Astronomy:

"According to reports from many NASA scientists in the NYT article quoted above, political appointees have suppressed real science, and now one wants to teach children specific religious beliefs on the taxpayers’ dime — then tries to claim the higher moral ground. And then, after all that, he admits to the issue being religious!...read on

World O' Crap on George Deutsch:

"Anyway, it made me wonder how a recent college graduate in journalism got appointed to be a spokesman for NASA (which job seems to involve telling rocket scientists how rockets works, and the like). So, I Googled some of George's columns at the Texas A&M Battalion, and I think I have a few ideas about some of the qualities which the White House was looking for in public affairs officer...read on"

The Scientific Activist:

"George Deutsch, the Bush political appointee at the heart of administration efforts to censor NASA scientists (most notably to prevent James Hansen from speaking out about global warming), did not actually graduate from Texas A&M University...read on"

Anyone surprised?